Modern Times is a 1936 Charlie Chaplin movie. This is the Little Tramp character's last film appearance. Wikipedia says this movie is often hailed as one of Chaplin's greatest achievements, and it remains one of his most popular films. It frequently appears on lists of greatest films ever made. I find it touching, a lovely film that makes you care about the characters and hope they have a happily ever after at the end of the movie. I watched it on HBO Max.
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In a review on the film's original release The Guardian says,
In Modern Times Chaplin proves again what the whole world already acknowledges - that he is the greatest artist of the silent screen as apart from the half-theatrical talking screen, the most eloquent master of mime, and the simplest, most essential, and most touching of comedians. Unless recent impressions have unbalanced the judgment this would certainly appear to be one of his very best films.
Criterion calls it "a timeless showcase of Chaplin’s untouchable genius". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 98%.
Film Site calls it the "independently-made, political and social commentary historical drama about American working people - the only theatrical-length film ever openly made in the US by a group of blacklisted film-makers..." and points out that "the film was based upon a real-life zinc miners strike in Grant County, NM of Mexican workers in 1951 against the Empire Zinc Company" and
the story was personalized by taking the feminist view of the film's narrator and heroine, Esperanza Quintero (Rosaura Revueltas), living with her oppressed miner husband Ramon Quintero (Juan Chacón); they were a typical impoverished Mexican-American family with two young children, living in a run-down shack (without utilities) owned by the mining company
On the Waterfront is a 1954 award-winning crime film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Fred Gwynne, and Leif Erickson. I watched it on HBO Max.
On the Waterfront (1954) is a classic, award-winning, controversial film directed by Elia Kazan - a part drama and part gangster film. The authentic-looking, powerful film is concerned with the problems of trade unionism, corruption and racketeering. And it is set on New York's oppressive waterfront docks, where dock workers struggled for work, dignity, and to make ends meet under the control of hard-knuckled, mob-run labor unions that would force them to submit to daily 'shape-ups' by cruel hiring bosses.
Roger Ebert has it on his Great Movies list and notes this as background information: "This was the film made in 1954 by Elia Kazan after he agreed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, named former associates who were involved with the Communist Party and became a pariah in left-wing circles." The Hollywood Reporter in a review from the film's release concludes a glowing review with this: "This is one of the year’s important films." Variety has a positive review. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 99%.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a 1954 musical film, a light-hearted romp on the subject of marriage by rape. Yes, this is a movie that hasn't aged well, not at all. I watched it on HBO Max. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
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Empire Online concludes by saying, "Great songs, great set pieces and solid performances in this colourful and infectiously enjoyable musical." Variety calls it "a happy, hand-clapping, foot-stomping country type of musical with all the slickness of a Broadway show." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 89%.
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 film, a type of coming-of-age film about suburban, middle-class teens. It's directed by Nicholas Ray and stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Dennis Hopper, and Edward Platt. I'd never seen anything but a few clips of this movie before and watched it because it's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. It's a tough watch. Give me a standard horror movie any day over these deep dives into family dysfuction and societal breakdown That's the real horror. I watched it on HBO Max where I've found quite a few of the movies listed in that book.
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The Hollywood Reporter opens its review with this: "On Oct. 27, 1955, Warner Bros. released a teenage drama, 'Rebel Without a Cause,' just a month after star James Dean's untimely death in an automobile accident." Variety has an article. The Guardian opens by saying, "There is some stuffy, faintly reactionary stuff in this famed 1955 teen drama, but James Dean is truly extraordinary, and it has some brilliant scenes".
The tale of youthful defiance, which could have been exploitative - but wasn't, provides a rich, but stylized (and partly out-dated) look at the world of the conformist mid-1950s from the perspective of the main adolescent male character - a troubled teen with ineffectual parents, who faces a new school environment.
The film has not aged well, and Dean's performance seems more like marked-down Brando than the birth of an important talent. But "Rebel Without a Cause" was enormously influential at the time, a milestone in the creation of new idea about young people.
North by Northwest is a 1959 thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason. This isn't my favorite Hitchcock by any means, but I watched it again for James Mason. Also in this are Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau, and Edward Platt. I saw it on HBO Max.
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Film Site opens with this: "North by Northwest (1959) is a suspenseful, classic Alfred Hitchcock caper thriller. The box-office hit film is one of the most entertaining movies ever made and one of Hitchcock's most famous suspense/mystery stories in his entire career." The New Yorker has a positive review from the time of the film's release.
The Hollywood Reporter concludes a review from 1959 by saying, "This film is pure entertainment." Deep Focus Review has an interesting article that opens with this: "North by Northwest distills Alfred Hitchcock’s obsessions, techniques, and themes into a singular, deliriously entertaining form." It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Buy. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 98%.
(I keep randomly getting "you've commented on too many posts today; try again tomorrow" flags when I try to leave a comment on some blog posts. Sometimes it accepts my comments but not always. If there's a work-around I don't know about it.)
A Star Is Born is the 1954 George Cukor film starring Judy Garland and James Mason. I'm posting this in memory of Mason, who died of a heart attack on this date in 1984 at the age of 76. Mason is one of those actors I look for. If he's in a movie that's reason enough for me to watch it. I watched this on HBO Max.
A Star is Born is the superb 1954 dramatic musical and tearjerker, acclaimed by many as the greatest Hollywood musical ever made. Judy Garland's intense performance as the main character, probably the finest of her entire career, ...
Roger Ebert's site says it's still the best of the 5 films telling this story. 98% of Rotten Tomatoes critics reviewing this film gave it a positive review.
West Side Story is a 1961 Robert Wise/Jerome Robbins musical film, one of the greatest musical films of all time and perhaps the best. I have the DVD but watched it on HBO Max this time. If you haven't seen this it it definitely a must see. And not just for the music but also for the plot.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is a 1957 John Sturges western film telling the story of the famous gunfight. It stars Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, John Ireland, Dennis Hopper, Whit Bissell, DeForrest Kelley, Lee Van Cleef, and Jack Elam. I watched it on Amazon Prime.
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It's included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus score is 85%.
The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 heist film directed by John Huston and starring Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe (always worth watching), and Marilyn Monroe (in one of her earliest roles). It is considered one of the most influential films in the genre. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. I watched it on HBO Max.
The Asphalt Jungle is the greatest, most influential heist movie, and has a superb performance from Sam Jaffe as the middle-aged German-born criminal mastermind behind a million-dollar jewel robbery in an unidentified American city. It differs from most caper films in creating a whole world where the carefully delineated crooks are mirror images of the supposedly respectable society they challenge. The film's crucial line is spoken by the suave lawyer (Louis Calhern) who bankrolls the robbery: 'After all, crime is only a left-hand form of human endeavour.'
Film Site has an interesting article and a detailed plot description. Slant Magazine has a positive review. Empire Online gives it 5 out of 5 stars, calls it "a seminal influence on crime pictures to this day, and concludes, "A tight plot that's enriched by wonderfully crafted characters that each have their own key weaknesses." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 97%.
Over the course of 81 of the briskest minutes in cinema, François Truffaut's Shoot The Piano Player contains flashbacks, jump-cuts, weird superimpositions, tender love scenes, broad slapstick, a snowbound shootout with feckless gangsters, a sing-along in a Parisian piano bar, and countless nods to American noirs and genre films. Truffaut himself claimed that his exhilarating second feature could be heard as a love story and viewed as a gangster noir, though it's a thrill to witness these aural and visual elements smashed together.
Senses of Cinema calls it "a cheerfully ramshackle affair, alternately light and serious, a playful film". Empire Online gives it 5 out of 5 stars and concludes by saying it is "A superb combination of genre movie and Truffaut's special brand of perfectly observed, humanist detail." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 91%. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
An Affair to Remember is a 1957 remake (starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr) of the 1937 film Love Affair (which starred Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne). Both were directed by Leo McCarey, who died on this date in 1969 from emphysema at the age of 70. To be honest, I much prefer the earlier film (available free at Tubi). The remake is not available free through any service I subscribe to, but I used to see it offered on network television back in the day.
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Rotten Tomatoes has an audience consensus score of 87%. It's in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
Fantasia is a 1940 animated Disney musical anthology film featuring various pieces of classical music. I've seen it several times, having had it on VHS when the kids were little. This time I watched it on Disney+. It was expensive to produce and was a box office failure. It's a must-see but doesn't in my opinion reward re-watching.
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Film Site has an article and an extensive summary. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 95%. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
The Producers is a black comedy satire directed by Mel Brooks (whose 96th birthday is today) and starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. I don't see it free anywhere. I'm always surprised at the movies that are unavailable except for rental or purchase. I tend to watch what's available free or through the services I'm already paying for. This film is hilarious, though, and I recommend it if you have access to it.
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 musical film, often considered the best musical ever made, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, and with Cyd Charisse. You can't ask for a more feel-good film than this. Just thinking about this movie brings a smile to my face. And I'll watch anything with Gene Kelly in it. It's on HBO Max, though I have the DVD around here somewhere...
Empire Online says, "The most enjoyable 102 minutes you’ll ever encounter in a cinema, Singin’ In The Rain is dazzling in its perfection". Roger Ebert put it on his list of Great Movies and says, ""Singin' in the Rain” is a transcendent experience, and no one who loves movies can afford to miss it". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 100%. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
Umberto D. is a 1952 critically acclaimed award-winning Italian film. It is the story of a man in post-WW2 Italy struggling to survive on his insufficient pension after having worked in civil service for thirty years. It's depressing to think we're re-living late 1940s-era Italy, but the evidence is before our own eyes. It's a touching film, not sad in the make-you-cry way, but your heart will go out to him. I watched it on HBO Max.
Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D. envelops us in a seemingly futile search for dignity, within a hopeless, unsympathetic world almost incapable of recompense and riddled by indifference toward the individual. Presenting a sentimental version of Italian neorealism, the cinematic movement in which De Sica made his name, the director embraces the common man through everyday struggles, but also through the heart’s journey to find some reason to endure. Even while structuring his narrative around the emotional validation of one man by way of his best friend, a dog, the drama never feels artificial or maudlin, as common as such a story may be. Opening on a demonstration held by a crowd of aged pensioners, the film begins with citizens shouting for “justice” and higher annuities. Police break up the rabble in jeeps, honking at the men and chasing them from the square in Rome like a flock of pesky geese. De Sica sets his stage with various shots of protesters, among them the anonymous face of Umberto Domenico Ferrari (Carlo Battisti), shown briefly here and there. Without a permit to rally, the pensioners are waved away, though most can survive on their allowance anyway. Umberto cannot, probably for the first time in his life.
Roger Ebert has it on his list of Great Movies and says, "It may be the best of the Italian neorealist films -the one that is most simply itself, and does not reach for its effects or strain to make its message clear." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus rating of 97%. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
Tsotsi is an award-winning 2005 South African film. I watched it on Paramount+.
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Roger Ebert opens his positive review with this: "How strange, a movie where a bad man becomes better, instead of the other way around. "Tsotsi," a film of deep emotional power, considers a young killer whose cold eyes show no emotion, who kills unthinkingly, and who is transformed by the helplessness of a baby." Rotten Tomatoes has an audience consensus score of 86%.
The Departed is an award-winning 2006 crime thriller directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Alec Baldwin. I watched it because it's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, otherwise that 2 1/2 hour length would've given me pause. It's available on HBO Max.
I have often thought that many of Scorsese's critics and admirers do not realize how deeply the Catholic Church of pre-Vatican II could burrow into the subconscious, or in how many ways Scorsese is a Catholic director. This movie is like an examination of conscience, when you stay up all night trying to figure out a way to tell the priest: I know I done wrong, but, oh, Father, what else was I gonna do?
The Hollywood Reporter says, "The Departed is a robust piece of storytelling and his best film since Casino in 1995. Everything is rock solid". The Guardian closes a positive review by saying, "Scorsese has hit his stride again, and he has produced something with as much as gusto as his best films of 20 or 30 years back; it grips and shocks and entertains ...". Empire Online says, "Back to the streets and with a stellar cast, Martin Scorsese proves once again that he’s the master of urban storytelling — and of thrillingly violent filmmaking." Rotten Tomatoes has a 90% critics consensus score and an even higher audience rating.
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 romantic comedy starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart. I'm not a fan of romantic comedies, but a classic is a classic. It's hilarious! It had me laughing out loud.
Although all the attention seems to be on Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart, my favorite in the film is Virginia Weidler. She's a delight! She was a popular child actor but retired from film when she was 16 years old. She married and had 2 children. She had a heart ailment and died of a heart attack at age 41. There's a Remembrance Society that celebrates her legacy. Here's one of my favorite scenes from this movie:
Eighty years after its release, The Philadelphia Story's grace, wit, and sheer romanticism doesn't just mean it stands out as one of the best films to emerge from the classic Hollywood era, but that it also might be the definitive romantic comedy, too. That's if it's even a romantic comedy in the first place.
... some people believe that The Philadelphia Story is a screwball comedy, rather than romantic comedy, as it uses various tropes of the sub-genre ... Even that's up for debate, though. By the start of 1941 the screwball genre was already in decline, as the tastes of audiences were changing thanks to World War Two. At the same time, The Philadelphia Story's dialogue is much less quickfire, and it has a sentimentality, sincerity – and, some might even say, sophistication – that sets it apart from other screwball films.
Filmsite calls it "an intelligent, sophisticated, classic romantic comedy-farce (part screwball) of love and marriage, human growth and class distinctions." Slant Magazine closes by calling it "a studio picture far deeper and richer than its whimsical surface style might lead you to believe. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 100%.
Captains Courageous is an award-winning 1937 coming of age drama film based on the Rudyard Kipling book by the same name. It stars Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Mickey Rooney, and John Caradine. I watched it on HBO Max, though I'd seen it more than once on television over the years, and I have posted it to the blog before.
One of cinema's greatest classic adventure stories is director Victor Fleming's Captains Courageous (1937). ...
The classic MGM, coming-of-age children's film acquired four Academy Award nominations ... with Spencer Tracy taking home his very first Best Actor Oscar (he experienced back-to-back wins when he also won Best Actor the following year for...
Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 94%. It's listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.
Here's a screenshot from early in the film to share with the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering:
though I'm still on staycation and not doing my usual blog visiting. This week is filled with rain, so all those outdoor outings we were planning (zoo, Botanic Gardens, etc.) will not happen.
Because this blog does not consist of a single focus topic I chose the name Divers and Sundry where "Divers" means being of many and various kinds, and "Sundry" means consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds.
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